BYU pulls past East Carolina for 3rd straight 3-0 start
GREENVILLE, N.C. — East Carolina had the confidence of a team that outscored its previous two opponents 94-3 entering Saturday's home tilt against a Big 12 foe.And then the Pirates got Schmev'd.Evan Johnson intercepted two passes, including a short pick six in the second quarter, to help BYU to a 3-0 start for a third consecutive season with a 34-13 road win over East Carolina at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium in Greenville, North Carolina.Bear Bachmeier threw for 246 yards and a touchdown, and ran for another as the Cougars piled up 418 yards of offense to start 3-0 for a program-record third consecutive season and the fifth time in six seasons.The true freshman signal caller with the funny jersey number completed a career-best 18 of his 25 pass attempts, and also ran the ball five times for 26 yards."I'm really happy with our quarterback," BYU coach Kalani Sitake told ESPN of Bachmeier. "It wasn't perfect, but I thought he made a lot of really good decisions."He had some help, too. LJ Martin ran for 101 yards and scored his first rushing touchdown of the season on a 41-yarder in the fourth quarter in his third straight 100-yard game.Carsen Ryan caught four passes for 63 yards and a touchdown for BYU, which did not allow a touchdown until ECU quarterback Kadin Houser snuck in from 2 yards out with 8:11 left in the fourth quarter.That was the first touchdown allowed by BYU in 2025 — the last team in the Football Bowl Subdivision to allow a 6-point score. It only took 35 drives — or roughly 171 minutes of game time, take your pick — by FCS Portland State, Stanford and East Carolina.But Martin responded with a season-first touchdown of his own to help the Cougars pull away for good.Defense and a friendly home environmental proved pivotal in helping BYU win its home opener for an eighth straight season, keeping the Pirates to 404 yards including just 119 on the ground with two sacks and six tackles for loss, in addition to Johnson's picks."We're happy with the defensive performance overall," said linebacker Jack Kelly, who had seven tackles and two sacks for the Cougars. "We've got some things to clean up, but it was a great day for us."The Pirates (2-2) recorded four tackles for loss in the first quarter, loading the box and out-gaining the Cougars with 74 yards of offense to force the 3-3 early stalemate.Bachmeier completed just 3-of-6 passes for 37 yards in the first quarter. But the true freshman signal caller found his footing, connecting three times for 43 yards with Ryan as well as a 40-yard strike to Chase Roberts.But the biggest boost — as has been the case three games into BYU's 2025 season — came on defense.Both teams combined for nine penalties in the first half, including an illegal substitution on BYU that wiped Tanner Wall's interception off the board in the second quarter.Johnson pulled a pick off the goal line with 4:44 left in the half, keeping Houser and the Pirates out of the end zone after a 14-play, 69-yard drive over 6:16 in the second quarter.The redshirt junior cornerback then took advantage of Sam Vander Haar's punt that ECU muffed into the 1-yard, picked off Houser on the next play, and returned it four yards for a touchdown to give the Cougars a 13-3 halftime lead.The Pirates totaled 168 yards of offense in the first half, including 112 through the arm of Houser, a former Michigan State transfer. But the hosts' first-half offensive possessions ended in three punts, two picks, a turnover on downs and a single field goal before the break.It didn't get much better as Bachmeier hit Ryan with a 20-yard touchdown — the former Utah tight end's second of the season — to extend the Cougars' lead to 20-3 while BYU's defense (again) held the Pirates out of the end zone in the third quarter.Bachmeier added another on a 16-yard run to open the fourth quarter, capping an eight-play, 52-yard drive to push the visitors back in front 27-6.Houser threw for 285 yards with two interceptions, in addition to his rushing score for the Pirates.
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